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January 19, 2012

Organizer: It’s all about the children

For many, Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump is a leap of love

BY MICHELLE MILLER

STAFF WRITER

Some may think it would be a bit nuts to jump into an upstate New York lake in the middle of winter, but hundreds will do just that for the 17th year in a row in February.

Some jump for the adrenaline rush or for the thrill, but most do it because it is for a good cause, according to organizer Brenda Water.

Waters said she believes people choose to take the ultimate plunge into icy water for several reasons, but most do it to help children with illnesses and to be part of a community event.

“Once most do it, they are usually hooked,” she said. The fundraiser began years ago when Waters and her husband, Jamie, attended a hospital fundraiser held on the St. Lawrence Seaway, where Jamie joined friends in jumping into the cold water to raise money for the cause.

After the experience, the couple decided to begin their own version of the event in support of their church, the Portlandville Methodist Church. The church continues to be a recipient of funds raised, but the couple have included local  children with medical needs on thelist. Catskill Area Hospice is also a recipient.

The first jump started in 1996 with 11 participants who jumped for fun. Now hundreds of people raise thousands of dollars. Waters said the event raised about $82,000 last year. “We try to help as many children as possible each year,” Waters said.

This year, money is being raised for seven children, Catskill Hospice,  the Milford Fire Department andthe church. Waters said sometimes the church decides to contribute to young adults in need. It will be sharing funds with Milford Central School graduates David Kerr and 35-year old wife and mother Corinne Salcido.

The recipients are as follows:

BRYAN OSTERHOUDT OF RICHFIELD SPRINGS

The 23-month-old was taken to the hospital for sever unexplained bruising and was covers with red dots last July. After blood tests, he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (low blood platelet count).

According to his mother, Crystal, ITP can cause internal bleeding and the biggest fear is intracranial hemorrhage. Bryan has gone through many blood treatments and a bone marrow test to see if his body was making the proper amount of platlets and to test for other possible problems since treatments weren’t working. Tests came back positive in that his body was making the platlets, but it was found his body was destroying his platelets almost as fast as he was making them.

Crystal said nurses at Bassett, where he goes for treatments, nominated Bryan to be a recipient of the Polar Bear Jump. She said she was in shock and overwhelmed when she heard the news. “It has been hard being a parent of such a young child going through this,” said Crystal, who had not heard of the Polar Bear Jump before.

“Children usually get better on their own and no treatments are working for him. He sits in a stroller and cannot do anything. He must have a pillow behind him. If he bleeds, there is no way to stop it.”

New treatments are coming out all the time, and the Federal Drug Administration just latterly approved a promising one, according to Crystal. She said it is hard to get her hopes up, however.

Crystal said once Bryan is 6 years old the decision to take out his spleen can be contemplated. There is not a high rate of that working so it is unlikely she would put her little boy through it.

Crystal said she had just had her fourth child when she learned about Bryan’s illness.

BETHANY AND EMILY BROWN OF EAST BRANCH

Sandy said she and her husband Yancey plan on making the 4 1/2 half hour drive to be at he jump, although neither plan to take the plunge themselves. The Browns have four children, and two of them are recipients of this year’s event. Bethany, 12, and Emily, 10, both have a life-threatening illness, Cystic Fibrosis.

Sandy said her family is used to being on the other side of fundraising efforts. “We cried when we found out,” she said. “It was really heartwarming.”

Sandy said a mechanic that worked with her husband at Cooperstown Medical Transport thought the girls would be good candidates for the event a few years ago so she sent in the general information about them three years ago.

“The girls are really excited and wanted to jump themselves,” she said. “The girls also think it is kind of cool that one of Emily’s meds actually comes from a polar bear.”

Of course the girls cannot jump because of their illnesses, said Sandy. She said she tried to convince her husband, who is a pastor at Horton Brook Methodist Church, to do it, but it does not look likely. Sandy said she cannot dive into the water because she has a disabling neck problem.

The girls were diagnosed with CF at ages 4 and 3 in April 2004.

“We had no idea what it was then,” Sandy said. She said it went undiagnosed for many years, because they were born with the illness. “When they were diagnosed, we were told Bethany was in the last stages of malnutrition and would not have lived to see her fifth birthday without intervention,” Sandy said.

CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lings and digestive system. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that primary clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food, according to Sandy. She said there is no cure and the average life expectancy is mid-30s, but that’s not without significant struggles to stay in good health.

Sandy said the girls wake up at 6:30 a.m. to do a variety of breathing treatments and then do it again before bed. She said each take roughly 40 pills/breathing treatments to manage CF.

Much of their day is spent eating. According to Sandy, they require 3,500 calories each day.

CADENCE LOVE OF WESTFORD

Jaime Love, Cadence’s mother, said her family has read about the Polar Bear Jump in the papers and wanted to go to it last year, but decided against it because of the bitter cold temperatures. “It feels odd to be involved this way this year after wanting to go show my children what it was all about last year,” Jaime said.

Jaime said Cadence is excited to get the opportunity to see the festivities. She has had a lot of questions, Jaime said.

Cadence, 6, has Brachio- Oto-Renal Syndrome, a hearing loss and deformities. She was born premature because of end stage renal failure. According to the Polar Bear Jump website, after enduring dialysis three times a week in Albany at the age of 2, she received a kidney transplant at the Children’s Hospital in Boston and received a kidney from her father, Dominick.

“While she is deemed healthier now, a transplant is not a cure,” says the website. “It is a temporary miracle. Eventually she will need another kidney, the cycle will repeat itself.”

Jaime said every time she speaks of her daughter’s illness it brings tears to her eyes. “When you have a child like  Cadence, it is over whelmingwhen you are reminded of how many people love you,” she said.

She said it is nice that so many strangers come out to help as well. “It is greatly appreciated,” she said.

Jaime said she knows of a few people who take the plunge each year, but she does not think she is brave enough to do it herself.

AMANDA DECKER OF BAINBRIDGE

When 14-year-old Amanda was 2 ½ months old she got sick with respiratory syncytial virus and ended up in the hospital.

While there, her heart stopped. She was diagnosed with a heat disease called Restricted Cardiomyopathy and from then on was in Syracuse Hospital off and on until she was 11 months old. Amanda was then shipped to New York City to be evaluated for a heart transplant. She received her transplant on Nov. 3, 1998. The eighth-grader still has to go for biopsies, echos, EKGs, and X-rays every three to four months because of her recent slight rejections.

She will have to take rejection medicines for the rest of her life. According to information posted on the Polar Bear Jump website, Amanda takes six in the morning and six at night. She has her biopsies at the Children’s Hospital at Columbia Presbyterian in New York City.

“When they do a biopsy they go in her groin or neck to her heart to snip a piece of it to check for bad cells that may be attacking her heart,” says the website. “In the last two years she has been having slight rejection so has needed her biopsy every three months and blood work every couple weeks to check her medicine levels.” Carrie, Amanda’s mother, said she had heard of the Polar Bear Jump before.

“I work at the school and a girl there was a recipient last year or the year before,” she said.

Carrie said she thinks the event is a wonderful things. “I wouldn’t jump like all those crazy people, but it is really nice that they do it,” she said. “At lease we know there are people out there willing to help others.”

The plan is to attend the event as long as Amanda is not sick, Carrie said. She said it will be their first time going, even just to watch. “She is excited about it all,” she said of her daughter.

TRENT DEBOER OF LAURENS

Trent, 2, was injured by a riding lawn mower. According to the Polar Bear Jump website, the Laurens emergency squad rushed Trent to A.O. Fox Hospital where he was stabilized before transporting him to Albany Medical Center. There, Trent went under a seven-hour surgery to stabilize and repair what they could at the time. Trent had a broken pelvis, hip and femur bone. He had his sciatic nerve cut and repaired.

Trent has undergone several surgeries since the accident in June. His family posts updates at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trentdeboer.

It was posted in December that Trent has been taken off all his medications except for vitamins. It says the boy is getting better at walking and bending his knee, which “is a good sign that the nerve is growing.”

The post said his muscle tissue is growing as well. “We have to watch Trent’s foot now due to the cold weather we are having because there is not a lot of circulation in his foot yet,” reads the post.

Trent will have more surgeries in the future, but for now it is a waiting game.

JESSE SCHOFIELD OF ILION

According to information provided over the telephone by Waters, Jesse was diagnoses with Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer on May 8, 2009, at the age of 7. He has since had 15 surgeries and 20 blood transfusion; all before his 10th birthday. His cancer has affected his left femur. He  has had a femur replaced witha donor bone and is waiting for his body to accept the new bone.

“Every day is a new day and we are still unsure of tomorrow, but today we try to make a new memory,” she read from a handwritten note from Jesse’s mother.

DAVID KERR OF MILFORD

After being hit with a big scare, David and his wife, Christine, decided to uproot their young family from North Carolina to come back to the community in which they grew up. David was diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma.

The intelligence officer in the Marine Corps, had only been home a month after a deployment to Afghanistan when he was diagnosed. Christine said they decided to lean on family and friends in Milford.

Also an MCS, graduate, Christine said she had heard a few people had mentioned wanting to nominate David as a recipient.

“It is so good to know there are people thinking of him,” she said.

Christine said she has gone to watch the jump in the past and David had jumped a couple times. He really wanted to do it this year, she said, but because he is expected to have surgery only a week before he will not be able to. Christine said she will be braving it out on his behalf.

“I told him I had done gone in the cold ocean before, so I would represent team Kerr,” she said.

According to Christine, she will not be the only one jumping for Team Kerr. She said about 15 people will be  jumping with Team Kerr Tshirts,with her husband at the forefront cheering them on.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community event,” she said. “It has been great momentum building up for the surgery. It will be fun for us.”

CORRINE SALCIDO

Back in July of 2003, Salcido became ill with what seemed to be a stomach virus.

According to the Polar Bear Jump website, she had gone  to her local clinic where theygave her something to ease the vomiting, but symptoms continued for two days accompanied by a terrible headache.

During a visit back to the clinic, Salcido went unconscious and was rushed to Lourdes Hospital. There, her family would soon find out she suffered a massive stroke. She was put on a ventilator and remained in a coma.

It was 10 months before Salcido was brought home.

According to the site, doctors have concluded the stroke was a result of the birth control Yasmin, which she had only been on for about a week before she became sick.

The stroke has left Salcido paralyzed and mute, known as Locked in Syndrome. The jump will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday Feb 18. Signups will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Portlandville Church. Those interested in participating may download registration packets at pbjump.com.

A password from Brenda is needed for access. A banquet, which includes an awards ceremony and check presentation, is held after the jump.

The festivities are held at the Elks lodge in Oneonta and are open to anyone. There is a small charge for non-jumpers. Organizers are also planning for the annual Chinese auction at Milford Central School. The benefit auction will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. Items may be dropped off to Brenda or the Portlandville Church.

New this year is a raffle for a round trip ticket for anywhere in the intercontinental United States donated  by Southwest Airlines. Two ofthese tickets will also be given to the participant who raises the most funds. Guns and quilts will also be raffled. For more information, contact Brenda at 286-7191.

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